If You Were A Vigilante

[BurtReynoldsMoustache]

Originally Posted by Swordfish941

The police are our friends (with the exception of that douche bag Stacey Koons).

They are a necessary force to maintain civilization, but they are not our friends. They do what they must to do their jobs (the jobs we as a society ask them to do), no matter how dishonest, disruptive, or violent their actions are required to be. They are no more our friends than the waitress who flirts with us for tips. It's not her job to take our order and bring us our food, it's her job to be personal and bring in repeat business. A police officers job is not to uphold the law or preserve civility or ensure our safety, it is to investigate people. Not criminals , people, everyone and anyone. They are information gatherers primarily.

[Jcordell]

Originally Posted by BurtReynoldsMoustache

They are a necessary force to maintain civilization, but they are not our friends. They do what they must to do their jobs (the jobs we as a society ask them to do), no matter how dishonest, disruptive, or violent their actions are required to be. They are no more our friends than the waitress who flirts with us for tips. It's not her job to take our order and bring us our food, it's her job to be personal and bring in repeat business. A police officers job is not to uphold the law or preserve civility or ensure our safety, it is to investigate people. Not criminals , people, everyone and anyone. They are information gatherers primarily.

Obviously we are going to have to agree to disagree.

[Swordfish941]

That doesn't make sense. Anyway, Checkman, what's your opinion on vigilantes?

[BurtReynoldsMoustache]

Originally Posted by Checkman

Obviously we are going to have to agree to disagree.

You are aware that the police are not legally obligated to protect individual citizens, yes?

[ManiacallyChallenged]

Do you know what would have made Batman all sorts of better? A tranquilizer rifle.

You just know with his kind of money he could custom build a super accurate high quality tranquilizer rifle with really potent darts, and just sit on a rooftop knocking out crooks and calling the cops.

[Excalibur]

Just to build on that, he should just use his billions of dollars in inventing guns fire in semi auto, fast acting tranq darts, gas bombs that instantly knock people out, put toxins in his batarangs that knock a man out, tazers, etc.

I mean, Batman is cool with his martial arts and fancy gadgets, but he needs more practical toys, like stun grenades or hornet grenades.

[Nyles]

Originally Posted by BurtReynoldsMoustache

You are aware that the police are not legally obligated to protect individual citizens, yes?

Yeah, I'd guess that Checkman knows quite a bit more than anyone else here what police are and are not legally obligated to do...

[k9870]

I never understood why people hate cops, it always a reason like "they found my crack and its unfair" or "Why am i being arrested, other people steal more than I did." Police have a hard job. Im looking to become a police officer (im 20 now, most departments hire at 21, even with my degree and military background.) I know many police officers who are the most honest people I know and daily put them selves in danger for people who they dont know.

[BurtReynoldsMoustache]

Originally Posted by k9870

I never understood why people hate cops, it always a reason like "they found my crack and its unfair" or "Why am i being arrested, other people steal more than I did." Police have a hard job. Im looking to become a police officer (im 20 now, most departments hire at 21, even with my degree and military background.) I know many police officers who are the most honest people I know and daily put them selves in danger for people who they dont know.

I don't hate the police, I don't even dislike them. But to sit and wonder why there are people who do hate the police is incredibly naive and ignorant. From my own personal experience I've been handcuffed and searched without probable cause, had my property searched without probable cause or warrant even after exercising my right to refuse search, threatened with arrest for exercising that right, I've been lied to about my rights even after I demonstrated that I knew them, accused of being a drug addict, I've had two completely false traffic citations written against me, and during the trial for one of them the officer committed perjury resulting in a conviction.

Then there are the horrible experiences I'm lucky enough to not have had to go through, the beatings, the midnight military style raids on family homes (some times at the wrong address), unnecessary and often sadistic use of less lethal devices on nonviolent suspects, mass arrests of law abiding citizens at publicly permitted events.

Are all cops like this? No. Are most cops like this? Not even close. But one bad apple ruins the whole bunch in the court of public opinion.

[Jcordell]

Originally Posted by BurtReynoldsMoustache

I don't hate the police, I don't even dislike them. But to sit and wonder why there are people who do hate the police is incredibly naive and ignorant. From my own personal experience I've been handcuffed and searched without probable cause, had my property searched without probable cause or warrant even after exercising my right to refuse search, threatened with arrest for exercising that right, I've been lied to about my rights even after I demonstrated that I knew them, accused of being a drug addict, I've had two completely false traffic citations written against me, and during the trial for one of them the officer committed perjury resulting in a conviction.

Then there are the horrible experiences I'm lucky enough to not have had to go through, the beatings, the midnight military style raids on family homes (some times at the wrong address), unnecessary and often sadistic use of less lethal devices on nonviolent suspects, mass arrests of law abiding citizens at publicly permitted events.

Are all cops like this? No. Are most cops like this? Not even close. But one bad apple ruins the whole bunch in the court of public opinion.

Mistakes happen and sometimes the ramifications can be horrible.

Mass arrests are not illegal. If the law abiding citizens are not being so law abiding such as tresspassing, interfering with the flow of traffic, disturbing the peace ect. Believe it or not people can be idiots even a legal events. And it isn't uncommon for indivduals to attend legal events with the intention of engaging in not so law abiding behavior becasue it will generate news coverage etc. But if we choose to look the other way the heat can be just as bad from property owners ect. Just becasue the activity is legal does not give the participants the right to engage in lawless and disorderly behavior.

I personally know ( former ) cops who engaged in illegal acts and went to prison. Nobody covered for those guys. Don't have an answer for you except that it does happen. Just like there are members of the U.S. military who have engaged in criminal acts. Just like there are private citizens who have engaged in criminal acts.

As far as your personal experiences. Well forgive me for saying this, but you must of had lousy legal representation if everything you have related is actually true.

Many years ago when I was a rookie (and not as clever as I thought I was) I interviewed a suspect who was in a custodial situation. Meaning she wasn't free to go. Guess what? I didn't advise her of her rights under the Miranda Warning. I got a confession by the way.

The case was thrown out when her overworked and underpaid public defender realized that I had failed to advise her of the Miranda Warning. Hell she didn't even think about it. I've seen other public defenders as well as much better paid private attorneys attack possible weak points in a criminal case like vultures. It's actually amazing.

So if you are being truthful it sounds like to me that you have grounds for one doozy of a lawsuit. Have you contacted the American Civil Liberties Union?

However if you are not an American citizen (and live in another country beside the U.S.A.) ,or you are an American citizen, but living in another country, then I will readily aknowledge that it's different and everything I just said is null and void? Is that a possibility?